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Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Photo: Beyond My Ken / CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Gardens & wildlife

Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Naples, FL · Southwest Florida$$Adults $17, ages 6 to 14 $6, under 6 free

About

Corkscrew's 2.25-mile boardwalk, half an hour northeast of Naples, passes through a 700-acre stand of old-growth bald cypress. Some of the trees reach about 130 feet, hung with ferns and bromeliads. When the water drops in spring, wading birds gather to feed at Lettuce Lake. Most of the year the last entry is 1 p.m. and the boardwalk closes at 3; from December 16 through April, both are two hours later.

Highlights

2.25-mile boardwalkOld-growth bald cypress forestWading birds and alligatorsBlair Visitor Center

Getting there

375 Sanctuary Rd W, Naples, FL 34120

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Go in winter if you can. Manatees crowd the warm springs from mid-November through March, and the wading birds are thickest on the same cool, dry mornings.